Disclaimer: Inuyasha is sooo not mine.
Chapter 15
Yuki awoke the next morning feeling particularily nasty and out of sorts, not to mention that the pain in his leg had returned and was aching something terrible. He called out for Kaede, who promptly appeared with pain medicine in one hand and a glass of water in the other. So grateful was he to see her that he nearly hugged her... but then he came to his senses and severely reproached himself for trying to make himself look weak. There was no way he'd make peace with his archnemesis!
Once he'd eaten breakfast in bed, he hobbled to out of his room and down the hall to his home office using the cane that Akira had so thoughtfully dropped off earlier that morning, along with his new painkillers. It was a plain walking stick of sturdy brown wood, but Yuki had plans of having a new one made. He'd decided that since he was stuck with having to use one for awhile, he might as well make the best of it and order a custom-made cane.
Surfing the internet, he soon found someone who specialized in crafting personalized canes and promptly got in contact with them. An hour later, after chatting amiably with the owner, Yuki had managed to get his cane put on top priority after offering to pay double the cane's price and allowing the use of Netsu for a private birthday party for the owner's daughter at half the cost. The ecstatic owner promised Yuki that he would personally deliver the cane to him tomorrow afternoon.
With that accomplished, Yuki tackled the paperwork left for him by his secretary and stopped a few hours later for lunch. He limped out of his study and into the living room, heading over to his dining room table where a solitary place was set. Seeing this struck a chord of loneliness in him and he paused, leaning heavily on his cane.
Kaede was moving about his kitchen, as silent as always, but spoke up when she saw him stop. "What's wrong? Are you in pain?" She made as if to come over to where he was, but he shook his head and resumed moving.
As he sat down, lowering himself with slow, labored movements, she came over with a pot and sat it before him. Yuki, who'd actually been expecting take-out, looked mildly surprised. "What's this? I thought I was going to have pizza today."
Removing the lid and allowing the steam to drift upwards, Kaede turned a steely eye on him. "You are not eating pizza during my watch again, Yuki-san. Not after what you did last time."
Green eyes slid guiltily away to rest on the pot before him and he reached for the ladle that stuck out of it. "I have no knowledge of what you speak," he said, helping himself to some soup.
"Let me jog your memory, young man. Two weeks ago, right before your bedtime." She snatched the ladle from his hand and stuck into the pot of soup.
Yuki looked smug and crossed his arms over his chest. "Um, nope, sorry. Doesn't ring a bell."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously on him. "You ordered a pizza with jalapeno peppers on it and ate the entire thing all by yourself. Then you waited--"
"Lies!" he cried, feeling his very soul quake in fear even though he knew he'd been had. How she figured it out was beyond him. Had she peeked at the pizza before bringing it to him? Most likely she had, but had she known how the peppers would effect him? Not a chance, he decided. That only proved she wasn't human. Evil witch...
"Its not lies, Yuki-san, and you know it. I very nearly succumbed to the temptation of tossing you out over your balcony when I realized that you'd purposely given yourself diarrhea to spite me."
"Well, if you hadn't taken away my laptop the night before, I'd never have done it in the first place," he pointed out peevishly. "All I wanted was to finish playing my game. But I lost all my progress just because you wanted me to go to sleep."
"Nonsense, that wasn't my fault. You should have saved the game first." Kaede moved away from the table and crossed her plump arms over her bosom. "That was such an incredibly petty thing, and for you to do something to do so revolting out of retaliation is beyond all comprehension. One of the reasons I stay is because Dr. Yamadera asked me to."
"What's another reason?" asked the fair man warily.
She leaned over and thrust her face into his. Her dark eyes seemed to glitter with an unholy light and suddenly, Yuki was very afraid. She lowered her voice to a dangerous level. "To set you straight, you little hooligan. And you shall be, before this is all over." When she straightened, her eyes returned to normal and she quickly checked her watch, then turned to grab her purse. "I will be going out now. I'll be back in a few hours." She headed for the front door.
"Wait!" Yuki cried, shoving his chair away from the table and getting unsteadily to his feet. "What about me?"
Kaede paused in her stride and turned around slowly to look at Yuki. "Oh, so you need me now, huh? I thought you despised me with your entire soul. Remember saying that? Or have you conveniently forgotten that as well?"
"I'm...I'm sorry. I know I've been difficult and I apologize for the whole pepper incident, too. That was... unforgivable." He grabbed his cane and limped forward. "Who will take care of me while you're gone?"
His pathetically worried expression lifted the frown from her face and for the first time, she smiled at him. "You don't need to worry about that, Yuki-san."
At that instant, the doorbell rang and Kaede went to answer the door. When she opened it, Yuki saw Kagome standing outside in the hallway. "Kagome? What are you doing here?"
Kagome stepped inside and removed her shoes and coat. "Kaede-sama called me earlier and asked if I would like to spend some time with you. She said she had some business to take care of..." She blushed and looked away from his steady gaze. "I told her I would be delighted to take stay here with you while she ran her errands."
The older woman gave Kagome a hug and shot the startled Yuki a furtive wink. "If you need me, my number is by the phone. Have fun, you two." With that, she was gone.
Turning to Yuki, Kagome gave him a shy, tremulous smile. "I see you were having lunch."
Yuki nodded, feeling uncertain of what to say or do. 'Don't screw this up, baka!' his brain cried. Aloud he said, "Actually, I haven't eaten anything yet. I was about to. Um, would you like to join me? There's more than enough for the both of us."
Her smile widened. "I would be happy to," she said, taking his arm and helping him back to the table.
Yuki felt faint... but in a good way. After last night's fiasco, he hadn't been certain that he would ever see her again. But this time, he would try his hardest to keep his hands... and lips... to himself. He didn't want her to run away yet again. He wanted her stay. For a very long time.
Once he was seated, she remained standing and finished serving him before retrieving a bowl and spoon for herself. "I'm sorry! What would you like to drink?" she asked, walking back to the kitchen. "Oh, wait. Here's a note from Kaede on the refrigerator. She says she wants you to drink milk." Turning, she looked at Yuki over the countertop. "I guess you'll be having milk to drink," she added with a chuckle.
Watching her locate the glasses and pour the milk, Yuki watched her intently, his heart thumping wildly. Kagome was in his kitchen, right now, pouring him something to drink! The woman he loved with his entire being was here to take care of him! She actually wanted to take care of him!
Hope blossomed anew in his chest and he could barely contain himself. He wanted to snatch her up in his arms and make love to her sweet lips until she couldn't take anymore. But no, he couldn't do that. 'Keep hands to self, keep hands to self,' his brain chanted over and over again.
"Here you go," she said, moving towards him, carrying two glasses of milk. "If you have to have milk, then I will too." She set it down before him and took her place beside him, laying her own glass down.
Seeing that her bowl was still empty, he grabbed it and began serving her some soup. She protested, saying that he didn't need to do that for her and reminded him that she was here to look after him, not the reverse.
"But I want to," he said, replacing her bowl in front of her. "It makes me feel useful."
Kagome's eyes widened at that remark. Was he feeling useless? She supposed so, since he'd been reduced to depending on others to take care of him. 'Just like me,' she thought sadly, remembering the weeks after her brush with death.
Sesshoumaru, Sango, Miroku, Souta and even Inuyasha had all took turns watching over her, monitoring every single bite she took, watching with bated breath to see whether she gained a pound or not. For the first couple of weeks, she had been so weak that Sango had to help her bathe, dress and feed herself. Even Sesshoumaru had lowered himself to feeding her as if she was a baby. It had been such a humiliating experience being reduced to such an infantile stage, that many times she'd wished for death.
"Wow, this is good," Yuki remarked, tasting the soup.
"Yes it is. Hiro made it yesterday. I believe he dropped it off here very early this morning." She took a mouthful and savored it. When she swallowed, she noticed that Yuki's right hand was trembling slightly and it appeared stiff. "Yuki? Are you okay?"
He looked up from his soup and frowned, nodding. "Yes. Why?" Her eyes went to his hand again and he looked to see what she was staring at. "Oh, you mean my hand. It does that at times. I don't notice it as much anymore. I guess I've gotten used to it." He sent her a warm smile.
When he began eating again, she watched his hand move. The scarring wasn't as pronounced as it had been before, but it was pretty obvious that his right arm didn't move as well as his uninjured left one.
Her gaze slid up to his face and she could see the scars on his face and wondered what he thought when he looked in the mirror. All this damage... caused by her. She knew he was drunk and could have prevented him from driving away on that icy night. If she had, he wouldn't be marred for life.
His eyes met hers and she started. "Sumimasen!" she cried, feeling her face flame. He caught her staring at him! Oh, no, what if he thinks she was staring rudely at his scars?
"What's the matter? You looked really sad there just now. I'm afraid I'm not very much fun to be around right now. I guess it's the weather. It's been raining for several days now and I've had to stay indoors this whole time. Kaede doesn't want me to go onto the balcony. She thinks I'll slip and hurt myself." He turned away to look out of his balcony doors. "But I must admit, it's a beautiful day outside. I love rainy days."
"Really? So do I," admitted Kagome, getting up and walking to the glass doors. Beyond the balcony, Tokyo lay damp and dreary beneath leaden skies. "It's gorgeous out today," she murmured, her breath clouding up the glass.
There was movement behind her and suddenly Yuki was at her side, leaning on his cane. "Just breathtaking," he said seriously, looking straight at her.
Again her cheeks felt as though they were on fire and she looked away from him. Yuki moved slightly and opened the doors, allowing the cool air to rush into the room which had suddenly become very warm. When she looked back at him, he had walked outside and was leaning back against the glass, staring intently out over the city. He cast a glance over at her and held out his hand to her. "Come out and see. The view is great."
She took his hand without a second thought and joined him out on the balcony. They stood there for a few minutes, hands joined, just watching and listening to the rain as it fell, then she turned to him and asked him if he wanted to go back in.
He shook his head and releasing her hand, limped forward to the railing where the rain fell freely on him. Then he looked back at her, smiling, his eyes a dark, rich green... the same green of a lush meadow in the summertime. So enchanted was she by the sight of him that she couldn't stop herself from going to him. Even from the moment she first laid eyes on him as he stood at her front door asking for Hiro, she was drawn to him. Inexplicably, undeniably drawn to him like a moth to a flame, despite the ugliness of his personality and his dirty mouth.
Even so, Yuki had been a heartbreakingly beautiful man; he still was, despite the disfiguring marks on his face and arm. He was also a kind man now, and perhaps that was how he used to be before he rebelled against his parents and ran away from home. But the man that stood before her, who wanted to hold her, to kiss her... was not the same man she'd met all those months ago. The man he had been had hated his parents for some unknown reason and hated her because he felt that she stole his brother from him.
But the man he had become was loving and thoughtful; a man she could rely on and fall in love with. Unfortunately for Kouga, she felt that it was a very strong possiblity that it could happen. She had already experienced the first stirrings of her heart whenever he looked at her with those incomparable green eyes.
The rain felt light and heavenly, and she could smell spring in the air. The coolness of the day did not seem to matter up here, so far above the city. It felt just right out here... so completely right... with him so near...
"May I kiss you?" he asked softly and when she turned her head up to look at him, he pressed a fingertip to her cheek. "Here. May I kiss you here?"
Kagome stood, helpless to move or think or act in the sight of those very green eyes. Those eyes whose pain had touched her soul, asked her to allow him permission of human contact. 'He loves touching and being touched,' Hiro had told her once. 'Yuki is a very tactile person, even though he comes across as cold and aloof.'
Yuki wanted to touch her now, with his lips. He seemed to be obsessed with kissing her.
"Yes," she whispered, unable to break away from his emerald gaze. Did he know that he was weaving a spell around her? When he bent over and pressed his lips to her cheek, her eyes slid closed. She could feel the gentleness of the rain falling on her face, in her hair. Oh, yes... such a wonderful, lovely, seductive spell...
His arms went around her and instinctively she moved into his embrace, bringing her body up against his. She slid her hands up against his chest and one hand lay over his heart, which beat hard and steadily inside him. "Yuki..." she breathed, but his mouth had slid over her cheek, pressing soft kisses against her skin until he reached the corner of her mouth. He stayed there, as though he was waiting for her to move away or tell him to stop. When she did neither, his head moved slightly and his mouth covered hers in a delicate, sensual kiss.
She did not want to push him away and incredibly, she did not feel guilt sweeping over her. For once, she let herself go and allowed herself to feel what this handsome man was giving her. His lips moving over hers made her feel as though she was kissing heaven itself; the sensation was so incredibly pure and delicious and sweetly intoxicating... Perfect. He was tasting her lips and her tongue, savoring them so tenderly that she began to weep.
"Don't cry," he whispered against her lips. "I won't hurt you, I promise." He leaned her back against the sturdy railing and kissed her again, slowly, almost lethargically, until her head began to spin.
Small, delicate hands clung to the front of his shirt as his head dipped lower to allow him to slide his warm, wet tongue along her jaw down to her pulse point, where he lightly bit her. She shivered and one of his hands slid down to the small of her back. He pressed her hips forward so that her body, from her chest down to her hips came in contact with him.
As his mouth gently sucked on the side of her neck, Kagome brought the hand that was over Yuki's heart up to touch his neck. Her fingers went around the back of his neck and up into his baby soft hair, which was now quite wet with rain. The sensations he was creating by the simple movements of his lips was sending her senses haywire and yet, at the same time, it calmed her and left her wanting more.
"Oh, Yuki," she moaned softly, tipping her head back further. Her hand gripped the back of his head firmly as his lips trailed back up her slim throat and claimed her mouth again.
This time, his silken lips were insistent. Stars exploded behind her eyes and she hugged him tighter, returning his passionate kisses with equal passion. There was no denying it now, no turning away from the glaring truth. She wanted him. All of him. Whatever it was she was feeling, was something she'd never felt before but she knew she wanted more.
When he lifted his head, she opened her eyes and blinked up at him. "I love you, Kagome," he said happily as the rain slid down his cheeks and off the ends of his hair which was now the color of dark gold. "I love you so much. You've made me so incredibly happy... I don't think I've ever felt such happiness before. I want to be with you; if you'll have me, that is."
Hesitantly, she looked away. Kouga. Somehow, she'd have to tell him. "Yuki--"
"But if you need time, I can give you time. I won't be going anywhere." He lifted his hand to touch her face. "Not when there's a possibility of being given the chance to spend my life with you."
"Yuki, wait a minute..."
He leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead. "Just so you know, I want to marry you. Okay? That's what I want. I don't want to just surprise you out of the blue and hand you an engagement ring. No, I want you to know beforehand that I want you to be my wife so you'll have no reason to be shocked when I'm heavily pursuing you. Do you understand?"
Silently watching him, she felt the spell return, winding its way around her and through her, making her wish that her body could somehow melt into his. Submissively, she nodded and tipped her head up, signalling to him that she was ready for another kiss. He did as she wished with great enthusiasm.
ooo
By the time they managed to break away from each other, the rain had gone from light to heavy and the skies had darkened to the point where it looked like early evening rather than just after one pm in the afternoon. The moment they hurried back inside, lightning flashed across the sky, causing the lights to flicker.
"Oh, kami!" Kagome exclaimed as a massive thunderclap rocked the building. Yuki's arms went around her and she realized that he was soaked to the skin. They both were. "Yuki, come on, let's get you out of these wet clothes," she said, taking his arm.
As she helped him to his bedroom, the lights flickered again and this time, they were plunged into darkness. With a small cry, she flung herself onto him, burying her face against the wet fabric on his shoulder. With a smile, Yuki held her close as yet another flash of lightning lit up his penthouse as bright as day.
"Are you scared of the dark, little one?" he asked her, ignoring the pain in his leg.
She shook her head. "No. Its just that... I've never been up so high before, so close to the lightning. It's frightening how loud the thunder is." His body shifted and Kagome stepped back quickly. "Oh, I forgot your leg! You've been standing a long time now. How does it feel? Are you in pain?"
Grimacing, he nodded. "Yeah, it does ache a bit."
"Then come on, let's get you in some dry clothes." She took his hand and they continued on their way.
Upon reaching his bedroom, Yuki went over to his closet and felt around in the dark. "Hey, I have candles in my bathroom. My lighter is on my dresser by the bedroom door."
While he was moving about in his closet, Kagome went to retrieve the needed items. She felt her way around in his cool, spacious bathroom and sure enough, sitting on the cold marble vanity were some candles. She brought out as many as she could carry and brought them to his dresser, where she found his lighter.
"Do you need any help?" she asked over her shoulder as she carefully lit the candles one by one.
"No, thank you. I've got it. I'm not ready for you to see my other scars yet." He chuckled, a trace of self-deprecation in his laugh.
As the candlelight danced joyfully before her, Kagome noticed that off to the side was a large, full-length mirror attached to a part of the wall and she could see her reflection in the darkness of the glass.
She studied herself. 'Such a drab, ugly creature,' she thought, 'so unappealing to the eye.' Then immediately afterwards she admonished herself for thinking that way. Sesshoumaru didn't like it when she was down on herself. He always told her that whenever she said something cruel to herself, it hurt him deep inside. But sometimes, she just couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted with herself every now and then.
From behind her, Yuki emerged from the dark closet and made his way slowly towards her, his limp more pronounced now. He stopped when their eyes met in the looking glass. He was dressed in a dry t-shirt and a pair of dark pants. His fair hair was wildly mussed, that apparently had been hurriedly dried with the towel that hung about his neck. In his left hand he held something that looked like a white tshirt.
In the mirror, his eyes traveled over her and he began walking towards her again until he stood directly behind her.
"You look sad. What are you thinking?"
She shook her head, trying to hide the fact she was freezing. "Nothing. You're limp seems to be worse. You should sit down," she said, turning to face him. "Kaede-sama left me instructions to give you your pain pills if you needed them. Do you need them?" Her hand went out to touch the hand that held the cane.
He gazed steadily into her eyes. "Do you know how beautiful you are?"
Again, she shook her head. "I'm not--"
Yuki nodded. "Yes, you are." Slowly, he advanced upon her but stopped when he saw she was shivering. "Kagome! I'm sorry! Here, take this. I'll find you some pants to wear." He handed her the shirt and reached around her to open one of the dresser drawers. His hand fumbled around inside and soon pulled out pair of gray sweatpants. "I'm afraid I don't have anything smaller," he said apologetically, handing them to her.
"They're fine, thank you." She gave him a smile and taking a candle, went into the bathroom. Once there, she quickly changed out of her cold, wet clothes and laid them out to dry on his jacuzzi bathtub, she slipped into the dry ones Yuki gave her. When she exited the bathroom, candle in hand, she found that her host and one of the candles were gone.
She found him in the kitchen getting a glass of water. "Yuki?" As lightning flashed, Kagome heard the sound of pills rattling and a bottle opening. "Are those for pain?" she asked, setting down the candle on the glass coffee table.
"Yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you alone in there."
"It's okay. I'm glad you're taking them, although I wish you had taken them sooner. I don't want you to be in pain."
She walked to the dining table and began clearing the dishes. "You ate pretty well. I'm glad you finished your milk too. Kaede would be happy about that."
His dragging footsteps came up behind her and she stood stockstill, waiting for him. As expected, his left hand snuck around her and he applied gentle pressure on her left wrist to set the dishes down. "But you ate hardly anything, Kagome. I don't think Hiro would be very happy about that. I'd warm this up for you, but I can't right now," he told her, indicating her nearly untouched bowl of soup.
"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm not hungry."
"I'm sure I have something edible in my pantry. You need to eat. I don't want you to starve." His hand left her wrist and went under her arm to lay flat against her abdomen. "You do realize that when you carry my child, you'll have to gain weight."
"Child?" she yelped, panic shooting through her and she attempted to move away from him. "Now wait a minute here! What child?"
He grabbed her around the waist and held her to him. "Remember? I'm going to marry you and naturally, that means I want to have children with you."
"No, please don't say things like that. I haven't even... agreed to marry you. Don't talk like this. Come, with me. Your leg..." Ignoring his protests, she dragged him to his bedroom and made him lie down, taking his cane away from him. "Now no more talk of marriage or of getting me pregnant, okay? You need to rest."
She pulled the covers up to his chin but his hands managed to slither out from under them and grab her wrists. "Lay with me," he said, gently tugging her down. "I don't want to be by myself. Please?"
After a moment, she capitulated and allowed him to pull her down on the bed with him, covering her with his comforter so he could spoon with her without hinderance.
Once he was fast asleep, Kagome managed to sneak out of the bed without waking him and went to the living room. The lights were still out and she went to the balcony doors to see if any other buildings were without electricity. By now the rain had ceased so she stepped outside to look around. Several of the surrounding buildings were also without power, she noticed, peering over the railing. Lightning must have knocked out the power lines...
From inside the penthouse, her cellphone rang. Quickly, she retreated back inside to answer it.
"Moshi-moshi?"
"Kagome? This is Kaede. How are you, my dear?"
"I'm fine, Kaede-sama. Where are you?"
The older lady sighed into the phone. "I am at my apartment and the lights have gone out, which of course means that the elevators do not work. I'd go down the stairs, but its a very long way down and let's face it, I'm an old woman. Besides, I need all the strength I possess to deal with him." She chuckled. "Will you be alright with him alone for a little while longer?"
"Yes. He's sleeping now."
"Was he any trouble?"
Kagome smiled to herself. Yuki was trouble alright. With a simple look he had entranced her... with a simple kiss he had enslaved her. "No, he was a perfect gentleman," she admitted, feeling her body grow warm at the memory.
"He even drank all of his milk."
Kaede laughed. "Good lad. There just might be hope for the silly little boy yet. Remember, if you need me, just call me and I'll help you the best I can. Or you can call Dr. Yamadera. I'll call you if the power comes back on to let you know I'm on my way."
"Okay. Be careful, Kaede-sama. Goodbye." As she closed the phone, a thought of Kouga popped into her mind. She really should call him and tell him... what? That she'd finally let Yuki win her over? That she wanted to be with Yuki?
No, she couldn't do that to Kouga. He'd been a gentleman from the first moment they met and had treated her with the utmost kindness and respect ever since. How could she even entertain the thought of letting go of a man like that in such a cold and unfeeling manner? She loved Kouga... but... did she love him enough to marry him? He had already told her that he had planned to propose to her.
Could she look him in those gentle blue eyes and tell him that she... that...
Replacing her phone in her purse, she felt hot tears sting her eyes. There was no way she could hurt him like that. She did love him... she did! But Yuki...
... And then there was her guardian, the man she'd grown to love and depend so heavily upon, who treated her like she was the only one in the world who mattered. But never would she have imagined that Sesshoumaru would feel any more than brotherly affection for her.
Going to the sliding glass door, she stared out over the gloomy city. Once again the rain was coming down, this time in sheets. As the tears slid down her face, she pressed her forehead against the cold glass. Kouga, Yuki, Sesshoumaru. They all loved her, but why? She was not worth the trouble of pursuing and she had done nothing to warrant such devotion. She was a burden to Sesshoumaru financially and to Kouga, emotionally. As for Yuki, well, once he remembered that night of the accident, he would hate her again. It would be best for everyone if she stayed away from them.
Half turning, she slid down the glass to the floor, where she continued silently to weep. So much had happened lately, so many revelations had been learned... it was just... too much. She needed peace now; peace and quiet. After leaving here, she would go home and hide. Or perhaps, she should just go on a long trip far away from here and stay away for awhile. Yes, perhaps that was best. She would leave immediately, without a word to anyone.
Drying her tears with the backs of her hands, she stood resolutely and went to the nearest couch where she lay down upon it and instantly dropped off to sleep.
ooo
Kagome awoke to the sound of Yuki's panic-stricken yells. With a cry, she stumbled to her feet and ran to his bedroom. "Yuki! What's wrong?"
By the feeble light of the candles on his dresser, she found Yuki sitting up in bed, his hands frantically searching the mattress beside him. "Kagome? Where were you?" he cried, grasping at her hands when she arrived at the bed.
His hands were shaking and Kagome reached up to touch his face. His smooth cheeks were wet. "Are you crying, Yuki?"
Yuki flung his arms around her. "I woke up and couldn't find you! I thought... I thought you had deserted me." He buried his face against her breasts. "I was scared when I thought I was alone."
She could feel his tears soak the front of her borrowed shirt and she wrapped her arms around him, feeling his body tremble. "I was here. I wasn't going to leave you alone, Yuki."
"I feel... so helpless," he said quietly, his voice shaking. "I'm afraid that if I'm alone, something will happen to me and I won't be able to help myself. What if I fall? My... leg... isn't strong enough yet. Don't leave me again, Kagome. I don't want to be by myself." His arms tightened and Kagome allowed him to pull her down onto the bed with him. "Please stay with me. I need you."
In the semi-darkness, Kagome closed her eyes to keep the tears back. Yuki needed her.
Once more she found herself submerged beneath soft, flannel sheets and held captive next to his body. His face was buried against her neck as he continued cry quietly. Her hands stroked him gently until the sobs subsided and finally ceased.
"I love you," he said, his voice just hovering above a whisper. "I... apologize for what I did to you in the past. Will you ever forgive me? I know I was horrible to you and I know that I don't deserve you now, but I can't see my life without you in it." Deftly, he rolled over to trap her beneath him. "I need you, don't you see? I need you to care for me and love me. I don't really... have many people who love me, you know. Hiro does, even though we fight alot. But even if you are the only one who loves me, I'll be truly happy. You matter to me, Kagome. You matter so much..."
He bent down to kiss her and once again she responded automatically to him. Her arms went around his neck, pulling him down to deepen the kiss. She couldn't help herself. The man was irresistible... and she knew she couldn't leave him; not now. He was like a child who had suddenly found himself all alone in the world. Before, when he had two good legs, he could take care of himself, but now...
His confidence was gone with the realization that he needed someone to look after him now and even though she was certain it would only be for a little while longer, the fact that he had to depend on someone else for his most basic needs must have been devastating to him.
When he lifted his head, he stared down at her. Shadows hid those blazing green eyes from view. "Marry me, Kagome. Marry me and take care of me. You will want for nothing, my love. Anything you want, I'll willingly give you."
She was tempted to say yes, but something held her back. It was that little voice in the back of her mind that told her he was only lying to her to sleep with her. 'Don't do it, Kagome! Refuse him! He's lying to you and you know it all too well. Once Kaede comes to relieve you, go. Go on that trip that will take you away from everybody. He'll find someone else soon enough to take your place so... just go...'
"I... can't, Yuki-sama. I can't."
"Kagome, I..."
She shook her head firmly and pushed at his chest, which refused to budge. "No. I can't marry you. Please try to understand."
"No, I won't accept that," was his reply. "I love you. I need you. I have to have you."
"You'll get tired of me," she said, turning her face away to hide her tears. The little voice in her head urged her on, much to her disgust. But Kagome knew it was the truth. Yuki was just acting like this because he was feeling helpless. Once he healed, he would no longer need her. "Hiro's told me some of your past. I... I don't hold it against you, but I don't want to become one of your playthings." Her voice dropped to a trembling whisper. "I couldn't bear that."
Above her, Yuki was shaking his head vehemently. "No, Kagome, no. I truly do need you. Please don't push me away. Please..."
Something warm and wet landed on her lips. His tears, she thought sadly and licked her lips. She reached up and wiped away his tears with her hands. "Don't cry," she said, making an attempt to be cheerful.
"Then kiss me, Kagome, and stop me from crying."
Falling under his spell was far too easy, for she did as he wished.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
By the time the lights came back on, it was nearly six o'clock in the evening and the rain had finally stopped. Around seven, Kagome was already wearing her normal clothes, which she had popped into the dryer for a little while. Now she and Yuki waited for Kaede to return. Yuki was sitting on his sofa, cane across his lap, watching her tidy up his kitchen.
"You will consider my offer, won't you?" he asked her for what seemed the twentieth time.
Kagome nodded, wiping down the counter with a sponge. "Yes, of course," she replied softly.
He sat back against the cushions with a sigh. "I'll do whatever it takes for you to say yes. If it means pursuing you in a clown car with ten sweaty sumo wrestlers across the Saharan desert, I'll do it."
She bowed her head to hide her smile. "Please don't do that. Think of your leg."
Yuki smiled in return. "Well, maybe not ten sumo wrestlers. Five, at the most."
Kagome giggled and rinsed off the sponge before setting it on the sink near the faucets. "You're silly. How's your leg?"
He stretched out his leg and propped it up on the coffee table. "Hmm. I don't really feel a lot of pain. It's just a dull ache now. Hey, could you come here and massage my leg? It feels kind of swollen and--"
The doorbell rang and Kagome went to open it. Yuki scowled when he saw that it was Kaede. She was panting slightly and smiled gratefully at Kagome.
"Oh, my," the nurse was saying, heading for the kitchen to set some grocery bags on the counter. "That was a long blackout, wasn't it? I couldn't believe it took them so long to get the power back on." She bustled about the kitchen, putting things away and Kagome helped her. "How's the patient?" she asked suddenly and looked out over the counter at Yuki, who sat with something like a grimace on his face. "Oh. He didn't want me to come back so soon, I'll bet," she remarked with a laugh. It promptly vanished and its place was scowl more fearsome than the one Yuki had presented to her. "Well, that's just too bad. I'm back and in charge."
Yuki quaked and Kagome watched him flinch as Kaede marched right up to him and rolled up his right pant leg to examine his knee. While Kaede was busy fighting to keep Yuki from yanking his pant leg back down, Kagome gathered up her stuff and quietly snuck out of the apartment.
As she drove out of the parking garage and out onto the rain-slicked streets, Kagome knew that it would be best to take a small trip away from everybody. Perhaps to the seaside? She loved the ocean, after all and it would be a good place to think things over for awhile.
In her mind, she was calculating all the things she would need to bring. First and foremost, if this trip was to be kept secret, (at least for a little while until she got clear of Tokyo) she would need to pay with cash. Sesshoumaru, once he discovered that she was gone, would immediately suspect a kidnapping and check her cards for any new transactions. Using a credit card would give away her position and he would have a clue as to where she was. Knowing him as she did, she knew that he would hunt her down and bring her home whether or not she wanted to. So, cash it was, then.
She stopped at her bank and withdrew a good sized portion from it, turning most of it into traveler's cheques. With that done, she drove home and luckily, Hiro was out. He was going out of town with Connie-chan for a few days. Thank kami for his girlfriend, Kagome thought with relief as she hurriedly began packing her suitcase... then stopped.
Her car.
Kagome frowned. It was a relatively new car and because her step-brother requested it, it came with one of those GPS tracking thingies... Damn!
Then a thought struck her and she smiled. Of course! Why didn't she think of that earlier?
Grabbing a duffel bag from her closet, she quickly packed her clothes and some toiletries, shoving her purse into it. She went to her closet again and changed her clothes. As she zipped up the leather jacket that Kouga had given her as a present for Christmas, she stared at her reflection. Not bad, could be better...
She left her room, shutting the door behind her and went downstairs, heading for the front door. In the small foyer was a little table where they kept their car keys in a small container. Kagome dropped her car keys in and retrieved the only other set, making sure that she had a house key on the ring. Locking the front door, she headed for the garage and out to the backyard.
In its little shed it sat there, in all of its shining black glory. Kagome felt a tremor of anticipation run through her. She knew she could handle it, for Kouga had continued to give her lessons and she had learned enough for her to earn a new classification on her driver's license.
After securely attaching her bag to the seat just behind her, she started it up and the Harley bike roared to life. She moved the bike forward and shut the shed door, locking it. Then she put on Hiro's helmet before settling herself back on the bike and driving away. She knew Hiro wouldn't check to see his bike when he got home and he wouldn't notice the keys to it were missing. Normally, he just tossed his car keys in the little bowl and from where they stood at the front door, the inside of the keys container couldn't be seen unless you walked right up to it. Heck, she might be back before he even noticed the keys or his bike were gone.
Shooting down the highway, she decided to head to Shizuoka. There were plenty of beaches there. Behind the helmet, Kagome smiled. She was free! And being free was such a great feeling...
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
A/N: Hey guys! Um, this is a weird chapter. . I don't know if there was an actual point to it or what. Oh, and I hope nobody was too grossed out by the jalapeno thing. Gomen!